tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602Wed, 07 Mar 2018 23:37:28 +0000Friday Morning Street Urchin BloggingDetroitSAHDphotographyThursday Morning WoodHalloweencostumesDIYThriftabandoned placesterrifyingterrifying nixon-era children's booksReminiscin'SeenSweet Juniper MediareparteeWendellDesignSan FranciscoThrift Store Funferal dogsnature fights backsleepif you ain't dutch you ain't muchElmoTVroad tripsatiresentimentalMusicParodyadventuresbirth storyblogsbully pulpitferal detroitschoolsscrappers"But where do you shop?"Daycare ReportsMichiganSound and the FurySweet Juniper TunesUp Northlawyeringmotorless citypreciousshoppingthe princess industrial complexDetroit RetailMommy WarsSexWild Dogs Whom I Have KnownZoocelebrity children's booksdetroit zooelegant leisurepuerto ricoDetroit Book DepositoryPooRobocopWhere the Wild Things Areabecedariesautomobile historybabiescoloring booksdepth of wintereverything is going to be alrightgraffitihipster babyinfants in armsjane cooper schoollanguagemetamythologyninjasrobotstantrumsthird pathBlogherBugaboosCapoeira the Brazilian Art of Dance FightingCowherdDetroit Public SchoolsDetroit Public Schools Book DepositoryFirearmsJohnny CashJuniperLittle LebowskiMR TMR T Coloring BooksPaul RevereRoosevelt WarehouseSweet Juniper Compendium of Magical CreaturesViennaabandonedantimotorbeastie boysbeastie boys children's booksbelle islebelle isle children's zoobelle isle zoocircumcisiondog cartdoulaferal houseshandmadepottytrainingrecession holiday contestrobocop kidtelevisiontheme parks of the damnedtips and tricksurban gleaning24 HoursAlex P. KeatonAlexander CalderBabies on planesBirth ControlCancerCelebrity Baby NamesChildbirth ClassesCincinnatiDr. SearsFaux FaulknerGeorgia Street Community GardenGhostGoliathHalloween; DetroitHoney Bee La ColmenaIsamu NoguchiJack WhiteJames KimJennifer GranholmJourneyLittle House on the PrairieMichael LandonNogucji playgroundsOther people's storiesPittsburgh;RemixSAHMShanghaiStyxSwayzeSwiftTone LocTroyWWFWeissbluthabandoned booksabandoned librariesairplanesawesome minivanbaby terminatorbelle isle ghostbilly joel sucksblindnessbollywoodbrewster projectsbuscaldercalder toyscalder's circuschristmascleaning dutiesdanny boyledave chappelledildodocumentary photographyenter sandmanespionageghostshakeem the african dreamindian maiden ghostinvincible summerkid litkraftwerkmermaidsmetallicamitch albommonster minivannain rougenostalgiaoscarsplayscapespopscyclepumpin ain't EZruinsrust belt imaginationshirtssleep warsslumdog millionairespiesspooky woodsstreet urchinssuburbstag teamsterminatorterrifying eisenhower-era children's booksthrillertime magazinetropicstwin towerswishful thinkingwrestlingzombiessweet juniper!http://www.sweet-juniper.com/noreply@blogger.com (Wood)Blogger666125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602.post-5894872003135749623Thu, 02 Nov 2017 18:58:00 +00002017-11-02T15:02:02.019-04:00Halloween 2017: William Shakespeare
I asked my daughter to write her own explanation of why she wanted to be William Shakespeare for Halloween.
"When I went to camp last summer, I chose Shakespeare as my minor. Not because I was already interested in Shakespeare, though, but because I enjoy acting in plays and I thought I would get to act. And at first, I did not like the class much because we spent so much time talking about http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2017/11/halloween-2017-william-shakespeare.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jdg)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602.post-1915453092630736614Wed, 01 Nov 2017 16:08:00 +00002017-11-01T12:19:24.216-04:00Halloween 2017: The Ghost of Harry Houdini
The magician and escape artist Harry Houdini died in Detroit 91 years ago, on Halloween. Before his death, Houdini had added "spiritual debunker" to his resume; he was disgusted by mediums who used the same sort of trickery he employed on the stage---not to entertain---but to exploit bereaved parties into believing their loved ones could communicate with them from beyond the grave. Houdini http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2017/11/halloween-2017-ghost-of-harry-houdini.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jdg)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602.post-7253622281775991026Fri, 23 Dec 2016 20:04:00 +00002016-12-23T15:24:38.502-05:002016 Sweet Juniper Holiday Card by Claire Bédué
Happy Holidays to you all out there. The Christmas holiday really crept up on us this year and we're busy sewing and hammering to get everything done in time. This year we are so happy to share the family portrait that French illustrator Claire Bédué created for our annual holiday card. Ice skating on the canals of Belle Isle is one of our favorite winter activities and Claire did an amazing http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2016/12/2016-sweet-juniper-holiday-card-by.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jdg)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602.post-2186247112465541674Wed, 02 Nov 2016 17:42:00 +00002016-11-02T13:43:34.025-04:00costumesHalloweenHalloween 2016: Half Pint
Last summer she decided she wanted to be Laura from the Little House books for Halloween (after seeing a woman playing the role of Laura Ingalls Wilder at Greenfield Village). I am proud to say I had nothing to do with this costume: over a series of Saturday afternoons my wife and daughter made up their own pattern and cut this 19th-century calico into a dress.
It's never been in my http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2016/11/halloween-2016-half-pint.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jdg)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602.post-6973438336400625696Tue, 01 Nov 2016 19:02:00 +00002016-11-01T15:08:52.784-04:00costumesHalloweenThe Twelve Labors of Little HerculesHe says he wants to be Hercules for Halloween, so I say let's start the lionskin. Lots of heroes wore lionskins, I tell him. Samson wrestled a lion with his bare hands. Gilgamesh killed lots of lions with his friend Enkidu and when Enkidu died he said, "I will grow my hair long for your sake, and wander the wilderness in the skin of a lion." Lionskins and long hair, those are things for heroes, Ihttp://www.sweet-juniper.com/2016/11/the-twelve-labors-of-little-hercules.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jdg)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602.post-2946950242425357220Tue, 22 Dec 2015 14:08:00 +00002015-12-22T09:10:45.519-05:002015 Sweet Juniper Holiday Card by Yinfan Huang
It has become our tradition to commission an artist every year to do a family portrait for our holiday card. Part of the fun is looking at the portfolios of so many amazingly talented illustrators out there and then working up the nerve to ask for the commission.
I don't know where I first came across the work of Yinfan Huang, but I started following Yinfan on Instagram months ago and I http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2015/12/2015-sweet-juniper-holiday-card-by.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jdg)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602.post-2347275046776360988Tue, 03 Nov 2015 20:05:00 +00002015-11-04T10:46:34.570-05:00Eye of newt, and toe of frog
My daughter wanted to be a witch for Halloween. Not a striped-sock witch, she said. A real-looking witch. A creepy one. The classics are classic for a reason, I said (and got to work).
We found a Victorian mourning jacket with puffed shoulders on eBay that was all ripped up and perfect for a witch. It was so creepy she didn't even want to try it on at first. I made a wrinkled leather http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2015/11/eye-of-newt-and-toe-of-frog.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jdg)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602.post-1685627272024562148Mon, 02 Nov 2015 19:53:00 +00002015-11-04T10:28:53.398-05:00Werewolf in Sheep's Clothing
My son decided to be a werewolf for Halloween. So I made him this mask out of felted wool. Then I made him those arms out of felted wool. Then I made him wear his wool suit and take some pictures in front of a flowery wall.
We go to all these fiber festivals every year and in the past there was nothing for me to look at unless the weird hippie who braintans his own sheepskins is there. But http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2015/11/werewolf-in-sheeps-clothing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jdg)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602.post-1003486149164640060Thu, 25 Dec 2014 20:39:00 +00002014-12-25T22:10:44.336-05:002014 Sweet Juniper Holiday Card by. . . sweet Juniper
This year our daughter asked if she could draw the family portrait for our holiday card. She worked very hard and we're proud as heck to share the result.
Hiring a favorite illustrator to do a family portrait has become one of our favorite holiday traditions, and we feel lucky this one offered to do the job in 2014. She chose to draw her favorite moment of the holiday season, when we return http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2014/12/2014-sweet-juniper-holiday-card-by.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jdg)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602.post-4089028701273753853Sat, 01 Nov 2014 02:13:00 +00002014-11-01T09:40:05.693-04:00costumesHalloweenHalloween 2014: Cyrano de Bergerac
This past summer my son wanted to learn to fence. At six he was still too young for most of the area fencing classes and camps taught by people who actually know what they're doing, so all he had was me. We bought some used fencing gear, watched a ton of old swashbuckler movies, read a lot of really old fencing manuals, and poked at each other with practice foils just about every day all http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2014/10/halloween-2014-cyrano-de-bergerac.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jdg)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602.post-7845718317774274578Fri, 31 Oct 2014 17:34:00 +00002014-10-31T14:18:39.994-04:00costumesHalloweenHalloween 2014: The Big Friendly Giant
My daughter is a tiny thing. There's no use denying it. At school recitals and other events we see how the top of her head hardly reaches the chin of the next shortest kid in her class. She doesn't seem to mind too much and by now it's become a part of her personality. There are things she likes about being little. When she plays flag football with the hulking, sweaty boys in her class, they http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2014/10/halloween-2014-big-friendly-giant.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jdg)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602.post-2927043010160174485Fri, 11 Apr 2014 17:34:00 +00002014-04-11T13:39:14.420-04:00Literary GiantsHello all. Most of my blogging energy has been absorbed by another project for quite some time now. Otherwise things are pretty much the same here. I've really been enjoying the liberation that comes from never worrying about what the next blog post needs to be about and just making dozens of things that I haven't shared here. But if there are folks out there still interested, I may pop in from http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2014/04/literary-giants.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jdg)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602.post-1483527912632953938Tue, 24 Dec 2013 16:23:00 +00002013-12-24T11:23:47.145-05:002013 Sweet Juniper Holiday Card by Phoebe Wahl
This year we had the pleasure of working with the talented Phoebe Wahl [portfolio, blog, tumblr, etsy] who created this custom family portrait for our annual holiday card. We've been fans of her work for a long time and we were thrilled when she agreed to do a painting for us. Her illustrations capture so much of the magic to be found in family, the outdoors, and the doing of simple things. She http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2013/12/2013-sweet-juniper-holiday-card-by.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jdg)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602.post-8718992331089768107Thu, 12 Dec 2013 17:41:00 +00002013-12-12T18:24:18.319-05:00SeenUp NorthUp North: Seen (summer & winter)
1.
Like most Michiganders we try to go up north every year and this past summer we rented a little farmhouse in one of the nicest corners of the state and we liked it so much we rented it again for the Thanksgiving weekend and headed up into the snow for an early and cozy little glimpse of the winter to come. It was a treat to see all the heavily-touristed areas more subdued. We walked (and http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2013/12/up-north-seen-summer-winter.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jdg)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602.post-51043267363343810Fri, 01 Nov 2013 16:31:00 +00002013-11-01T13:36:42.360-04:00costumesHalloweenHalloween 2013: Anubis and King Tut
The kids decided to go with an ancient Egyptian theme this year. I loved the idea of taking a Halloween classic like a mummy costume and adding a bit of craftsmanship and educational quality to it (while keeping it super creepy, of course). After they made their choice in September we started reading all the books we could find about mummies and we reread old books I loved as a kid like The http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2013/11/halloween-2013-anubis-and-king-tut.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jdg)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602.post-8732826604556260145Fri, 04 Oct 2013 17:20:00 +00002013-10-07T09:30:03.220-04:00Attention West Michigan FolksI always feel awkward promoting stuff, but here goes: I will be giving a talk at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts next Wednesday (October 9, 2013) at 7:00 p.m. to launch the Kalamazoo Art League's 59th lecture season. I'm excited and honored to have the opportunity to do something like this in my beautiful hometown and would love to meet anyone who's interested in coming down there to hear it.
http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2013/10/attention-west-michigan-folks.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jdg)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602.post-2250098833664019444Tue, 24 Sep 2013 18:11:00 +00002013-09-24T19:54:10.021-04:00MishemokwaThey were both wearing shirts of that orange only hunters, convicts, and ten-year-old boys can get away with. I didn't know much about them---just what you can glean from conversations between strangers overheard on a boat. The mother of one (or both) of them was wearing a Harley Davidson t-shirt and denim shorts that were maybe a little too short and she was just dating the bald-headed park http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2013/09/mishemokwa.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jdg)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602.post-5288603517302490953Fri, 06 Sep 2013 14:45:00 +00002013-09-06T11:02:42.533-04:00Back to School Project: Favorite-Animal Lunchboxes
My wife puts a note in our daughter's lunch every day. Our eldest still has some anxiety about school, and the notes are always written to help her conquer some of her challenges, to let her know how proud we are of her. They are really sweet. This year my son is going to school every day for the first time ever. I'm going to miss them both. I really wanted to make something for him and his http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2013/09/back-to-school-project-favorite-animal.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jdg)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602.post-7697379347515850596Wed, 24 Jul 2013 16:59:00 +00002013-07-24T14:54:13.950-04:00Here Be Dragons
I started this project a few weeks back as a way to use up some smaller leather scraps I had sitting around. I twisted them into dragon's teeth, tendrils, and horns and designed the dragon mask so the kids could see through the mouth (the lower jaw can be adjusted up and down).
Of course, when I finished the red dragon head, they fought over it. So I just had to make another. I http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2013/07/here-be-dragons.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jdg)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602.post-1852113826726622424Thu, 18 Jul 2013 15:38:00 +00002013-07-18T12:19:15.604-04:00Kids at the Jeffries Projects, 1953Several readers have sent me links to this great image taken forty years ago in a Detroit suburb. It reminded me of a picture from my personal collection of old press images (found at a local book store). A cropped version of this image appeared in the Detroit News sixty years ago (September 13, 1953), accompanying a story on the Jeffries Housing Projects in Detroit:
Unlike the lovely candid http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2013/07/kids-at-jeffries-projects-1953.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jdg)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602.post-484759433986995006Tue, 04 Jun 2013 18:34:00 +00002013-06-04T17:01:17.889-04:00Broken MayWhen your kid breaks a bone, everyone wants to know how it happened. Like with divorce or some freak accident, there is a natural, selfish curiosity that surfaces when someone else breaks something: we want to know how, and why, perhaps so we might avoid breaking precious things of our own.
Facing the inquiries, I feel for parents who break kids' arms on accident, swinging them around or http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2013/06/broken-may.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jdg)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602.post-3519436007512348873Thu, 18 Apr 2013 18:50:00 +00002013-04-18T14:54:30.325-04:00costumesThe Honorable Samurai, Age FiveIt turns out it's not so easy to explain the concept of honor to a five-year-old. This is one of the wonders of parenthood: knowledge that you have spent decades taking for granted suddenly requires detailed explanation. How do you explain honor to anyone, let alone a five-year old? Lord knows I don't want to start talking about Latin word roots. Only assholes do that. It went like this:
"Yes, http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2013/04/the-honorable-samurai-age-five.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jdg)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602.post-7723005180308701156Fri, 22 Mar 2013 18:50:00 +00002013-03-23T15:58:24.208-04:00SeenDown South: Seen
Just a few pictures from our trip down south (Lexington-Knoxville-Asheville-Columbia-Charleston).
http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2013/03/down-south-seen.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jdg)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602.post-231961052104208218Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:55:00 +00002013-03-13T17:12:55.332-04:00Winter unravelingI'm sitting in shirtsleeves somewhere in Charleston, South Carolina and a few dozen voices on the phone screen are complaining about how cold it is back home. We came here, in part, to escape the weather but in this day and age though you may be able to escape the snow and cold the complaining on Facebook will follow you to the smoldering gates of hell.
In Aiken last night we sat down with an http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2013/03/winter-unraveling.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jdg)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14145602.post-3587019137982765060Tue, 05 Mar 2013 17:33:00 +00002013-03-05T12:57:18.455-05:00Road Trip
So we're driving through Kentucky, and oh man, things are crazy down here. I mean, in Kentucky you can get breakfast at Arby's.
These Carhartt-clad Kentucky hipsters take the bike lane thing to whole new level. "Awww, cars, man, WHYYYY?" To his credit, he seemed to be following all the rules of traffic. I like to imagine that when he woke up that morning he said to himself, My parole http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2013/03/road-trip.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jdg)